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Ep.63: Betrayal in Tampa · Football Junkies podcast

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Now if you think I'm going to talk about the chiefs and the bills and the commanders and the Eagles
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You're a sad and mistaken. We're not doing that in this episode. Okay, because you know why we got drama with coaches
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Okay, and not with all coaches, but one specific coach. Okay in Florida. Okay, we got betrayal in Tampa folks
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Okay, Brian Schoenheimer is the new coach for the Dallas Cowboys
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Liam Cohen is officially the coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars P. Carol heads to Vegas
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Bobby slowly gets the boot from Houston Robert solid goes back to Cali
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Big Ben speaks on the state of the Steelers and
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Russ makes his bid for another chance with Pittsburgh. Okay, all of this and more on the 63 episode of the football junkies podcast
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Okay, I am your host with the most. Okay
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I am your chief back road Domus where everything anything related to the bag and more is
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In my ballpark. Okay, as well as your GM who currently is not on a team right now
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But has sources at the senior bowl. What would they tell me? Well, I know I don't know
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Maybe I'll tell you in the next episode. Stay tuned. Who knows but most importantly
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I am your chief head of the table anything and everything related to the offseason the bag trades
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Speculations rumors anything and everything you could possibly think of okay, but I'm all
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These things and more but most importantly the most important title that you must remember is I am your host
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Kale you already know how things are about to go. This is about to be a loaded episode
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We might have a loaded week of twists and turns truth bombs and some reality checks for certain teams
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But guess what we're all gonna love it. So guess what on three one two three. Let's lock in
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All
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Right folks, let's just get into the meats and potatoes of everything that is going on in the league rights now
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Okay, so yes, I am not talking about the playoffs
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Right now, okay, I'm gonna save that for the second episode because there's a lot to talk about with that episode, okay?
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We got betrayal and Tampa folks. Okay. This is like a drama series
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This is like days of our lives, but with football. Okay, we're gonna get into that segment
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But before we get into that we got to talk about a few other coaches that either got hired or fired
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Okay, so let's start with Brian Schoenheimer Brian Schoenheimer is now the official head coach for the Dallas Cowboys
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Whoo, man, oh man, if you would have told me that he would have been a head coach for the Cowboys
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I would have called you a liar, but he is so let's go a little bit into the background of
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Brian Schoenheimer. Okay, so
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He was an offensive coordinator for the Jets from 2006 to 2011 the Rams from 2012 to 2014
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The Seahawks from 2018 to 2020 and the Cowboys from 2023 to 2024
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Okay, he joined the Cowboys as a consistent in 2022 and worked with
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Dan Quinn for a majority of the time after
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Kellan Moore left in 2020 he became the offensive coordinator. However
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Mike McCarthy took over the play calling responsibilities according to Todd Archer from ESPN
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Also, he was not a what will actually know let me let me take a step back
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While he wasn't a play caller for the Cowboys
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He quote-unquote had a large role in the offense weird. I know right also
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He has a strong relationship with Dak and personnel within the building and the Cowboys also interviewed
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Leslie Frazier Robert Sala and Kellan Moore
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now when we break down the
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Offenses that he has worked with as you know as an offensive coordinator, right? We have to you know break things down
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So here we go. And this is from Garrett Poldell from CBS Sports. So the 06 Jets, okay?
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19.8 points per game
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18th in the league the 07 Jets
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22.2 points per game
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25th in the league the 08 Jets
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25.3 points per game ninth in the league the 09 Jets
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21.3 points per game 17th in the league the
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2010 Jets 22.9 points per game 13th in the league the
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2011 Jets
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23.6 points per game 13th in the league the 2012 Rams
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18.7 points per game 25th in the league the 2013 Rams
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21.8 points per game 21st in the league the 2014 Rams
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20.3 points per game 20 again
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All right the 2018 Seahawks
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26.8 points per game 6th in the league the 2019 Seahawks
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25.3 points per game 9th in the league the 2020 Seahawks
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28 points per game 8th in the league
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So my takeaway from all of this out of all those years that he was an offensive coordinator
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He's only had four years where he's had a top 10 offense
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Okay, outside of that. He's been very average to slightly above average to slightly below average
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This is probably one of the worst hires that Jerry Jones has had in a very long time. Now. I wonder
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Why would Jerry make this type of move?
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Because you have someone like a Robert Salah who was very qualified
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You could have kept Mike McCarthy who was very qualified and you had a track record to show that the offense has been
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significantly better under his tenure
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But instead you decide to go with this guy and there's no disrespect to him at all
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I want everybody to get their you know shot to get their opportunity
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But everybody knows when you are working for Jerry Jones Jerry Jones is the judge jury and executioner of this thing
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Okay, decision is made without the approval of Jerry Jones
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Not one draft pick not one trade not one signing not one cut Jerry Jones's approval on one hand
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Maybe they did it because they felt that Robert Salah and Mike McCarthy were probably you know out of the question
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Because maybe it was probably gonna be a little bit expensive
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But you are probably one of the most popular teams in the world
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Okay
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Most people know about the Chicago Bulls
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The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees you are bringing in well over a billion dollars in revenue
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Add sales people buying your jerseys coffee cups slippers all those things
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So why in the world could you just wrote a check to get one of these big names for the team?
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Instead of going with somebody who by these stats is average
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You don't need average especially in your division when you have two offenses that are significantly better than yours
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Okay, we've literally just saw Washington
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Almost make it to the Super Bowl
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That's gonna be a problem for the next 10 to 15 years
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You don't have anybody on your team that can compete with that
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You don't have on your you don't have anybody on your team that can compete with the Eagles
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So why would you make this type of move Jerry Jones?
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This is a little bit odd
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Now I do know there was a period in time where there was a report coming out that there was a little bit of an internal
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strife between him and his son because
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apparently Jerry Jones was interested in bringing in Dion Sanders and
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Stephen Jones was interested in
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Elevating Brian Schoenheim if you hear something in the background, that's that's my dog max movement
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So but anyway back to back to the situation. Oh one hand
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I have so many questions, but all of my questions won't be asked until we actually see
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How he orchestrates this offense?
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Now if the offense is phenomenal and they make it to the playoffs and they win, you know some playoff games
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Okay, cool. I'll give you you know credit where credit is due
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But if they don't go anywhere and they're actually worse with him than what they were with Mike McCarthy
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I don't know. I don't know. We gotta have a conversation. You overpaid for Dak Prescott. You overpaid for CD land
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You're trying to rebuild the offense as well as the defense. You're out of crossroads
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What exactly
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Made you say okay, we're gonna go with somebody internally instead of trying to bring in somebody from outside
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That can give us a spark that we need. I
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Don't know. I'm not a Cowboys fan. So this is above me
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But man, I have lost lost faith. I have lost everything if I'm a seasoned ticket holder. Oh
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Listen every single game. I'm selling them. You want free tickets? You want some tickets? You want some tickets?
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Here take them. I don't I'm not even a Cowboys fan. I'm more I've
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renounced myself from being a Cowboys fan because wow
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But let's get into a betrayal in Tampa folks
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Man, oh man. Oh man. This is
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weird this is
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Very odd, but you know, I
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Don't know how to feel about this. I don't know
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I'm trying to find the words to say but this whole situation is so confusing and if you if you listen to
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Who was it not this past that the second to last episode
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Where I was saying, you know, I had my phone up and I was on Twitter because there was a lot of you know
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Back and forth going on with a lot of insiders saying, you know
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Liam Cohen is about to be the next head coach for the Jaguars. He wasn't he's in the building
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He's not in the building Robert Saw was there. It was it was a source off. Okay, and you gotta love source source
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Offs those are the best thing in the world. Okay, but let's get into this Liam Cohen situation. Okay, so Liam Cohen, of course
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Is now the official head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Okay, so let's get into his stats first and
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Then we'll get into the quotes and the entire situation. Okay, so
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He started off as an assistant Y receiver coach with the LA Rams from 2018 and 2019 and then he moved to being the quarterback coach for
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The Rams in 2020. All right, then he goes into college football and becomes the offensive coordinator for Kentucky in 2021
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Then he goes back to the Rams and be their offensive coordinator in 2022
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Then he goes back to Kentucky to be the offensive coordinator again in 2020
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And then he goes to the Buccaneers and be their offensive coordinator in 2024. Yes, I know confusing
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Just just hang on there. Just just hang on. It's gonna get more confusing. Okay, so under his tenure with the Rams in 2022
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They had the 32nd ranked offense the 27th passing offense and the 27th rushing offense
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Okay with the Buccaneers in this past season. They had the third ranked offense
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The third passing offense in the fourth rushing offense. So that's pretty good compared to you know, his tenure with the Rams
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Okay, cool. This is where things get crazy. Okay, so I need you to buckle up
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Turn that volume up because it's about to get weird. Okay, so this is how it starts off
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Okay, so Jason light the general manager for the Bucs came to Liam Cohen and said, what would it take for you?
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To stay with us and he put in a request that he wanted to be the highest paid offensive coordinator in NFL history
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Okay, cool. So Jason light takes that request to the Glazer family who happens to be the owners of the bitch
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Okay, and so they approve it as well as approve Liam Cohen to take the interview with the Jaguars
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So he can experience going through the process of becoming a head coach
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Okay, cool. No problem with that. He was one of three finalists
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Including Robert Sala and Patrick Graham the problem with all of this is of many
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One of many is that the Bucs tangent on Liam Cohen not taking a second interview?
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Okay, I know you probably have a shrugged up face right now like you just ate a lemon head
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It's gonna get more weird
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So Cohen requested more time and requested more money in which the Glazer family denied and
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Reinforced that the current offer which was to make him the highest paid
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Offensive coordinator is the only offer that they have on the table and that they needed an answer by Monday
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So Cohen asked for more time and was given until Tuesday and when asked again for more time
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He informed them that he would have an answer by Wednesday
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Meanwhile, he's waiting for the second round of interviews to happen with the Jaguars
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So Wednesday morning comes around and Cohen. I want you to remember this
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I want you to remember that
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He talked with ownership. He talked with Todd Bowles. He even talked with a few players
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Okay, shortly after this Trent bulky the general manager for the Jaguars was fired. Okay
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Cohen was expected to sign the deal for the Buccaneers to be the highest paid offensive coordinator in the league
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Cohen was expected to sign the deal for the Buccaneers to be the highest paid offensive coordinator in the league
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That Wednesday afternoon, but he never showed up. The team tried reaching out to him, but was unsuccessful. Okay
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Jason like called and
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They had a you know conversation and he asked if they can push the signing deal until Thursday morning, which was granted
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Thursday morning comes around and Cohen has yet to appear and the assistant general manager
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Mike Greenberg had to reach out to him
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Which was unsuccessful as well as Todd Bowles and Jason light tried as well
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Cohen's agent informed the Buccaneers that Cohen was dealing with a personal matter
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So Liam Cohen reached out to Todd Bowles to inform him that he was still dealing with the personal matter
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But as well as let him know that things had changed in Jacksonville and that he was going to explore the option a
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Buck staffer remember this
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Inform somebody from somebody from the Jaguar side
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So basically somebody from the Jaguar side informed somebody from the Bucs side that they had spotted Liam Cohen in the building
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The Jaguars wanted to keep the meeting between them
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under the wraps and offered Cohen the chance to choose his GM
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They also satisfied the Rooney rule by interviewing Patrick Graham
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But by doing so they cancelled interview for Robert Sala that was slated for Friday morning
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And this is all coming from Albert Brear a very respected insider. So
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Let's get into the statements that were put out. Okay, so let's let's get into Liam Cohen statement first and
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I quote becoming the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is an opportunity of a lifetime and one that I am going to run with to
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Install a championship culture and winning tradition here in Duval
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This doesn't happen without the support and opportunities that my family and I have been offered throughout my career
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Especially during this past season in Tampa Bay
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We thank Todd Bowles for his continued support in the entire Buccaneers organization for the experience and no
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They will have success ahead
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Most of all we are grateful to shotgun for his belief and what we will bring to the Jaguars
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We will work tirelessly to reward his confidence as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars
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I will hire a first-class coaching staff
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Establish a distinctive and effective brand of football on both sides of the ball and our players will live for the black and teal
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Shad and the Jaguars fans should expect nothing less and that's what we plan to deliver and more
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My wife Ashley and our family are honored to be here in a part of the Jacksonville community
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We are ready to get to work and quote now. This is what Chad Khan said on the hiring of Liam Cohen
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To repeat my message earlier this week. I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville
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I also believe in being judged by actions not words
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That's why I took swift and decisive action this week to hire Liam Cohen as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars
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I am pumped that Liam is a good opportunity
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To build the winner that Jaguars fans and partners fully deserve
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I know our players feel the same in quote
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Now this is what I will say
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On one hand, I understand that there are only 32 head coaching opportunities
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And I understand when one opens up that you have to take it if it is presented to you
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However, there is a way that you go about it
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Okay, you don't just go to the team that you were just working for and say oh, I want to be the highest paid offensive coordinator in
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League history they grant it to you and then when they tell you hey, we need to answer by you know expected date
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You're continuing to buy time to see if the Jaguars are gonna make their move and try to counteract what the Buccaneers are doing
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I understand that you want to be a head coach and that's perfectly fine
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But certain situations, especially like this one you have to choose
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Stability over chaos. I'm gonna say that again
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Sometimes you have to choose stability over chaos, especially in the workforce and the reason why I say that is because
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The Buccaneers are a stable organization
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Okay, the Glazers family have been in business long enough to know how to run a successful
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successful football operation
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Jason light is a very well respected general manager throughout league circles and his track record shows it
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Okay, compared to going to the Jaguars where you have a very
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Emotional as I would say owner in a very
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toxic situation
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Now you're trying to figure out how in the world are you one going to build this team?
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to figure out who your GM is going to be and
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Three figure out a way how you guys can begin creating winning football
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That's a lot in your plate and you're a first-time head coach
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Now it'll be different if you had somebody in mind that you can say oh they can be my GM
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I've had history working with them. We have a good working relationship all of that and more
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But you don't have that and it's not like there's a whole bunch of GM's that are just sitting around and saying oh, yeah
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I'll definitely take on that job. No, I will not touch this job with a 10-foot pole. I'm sorry
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Because this has a mistake written all over it
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Because now guess what if this team does not show anything within the first maybe three years
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Oh, you're out and guess what you and the GM are out
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You guys are gonna be a package deal because you know why he's gonna turn this thing around and say guess what?
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I gave you the power to choose your GM and
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Here we are in the same situation that we've been in for the past five years or whatever
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so it's those type of
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Situations that you have to be in concern of because your reputation is on the line and
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If you fail horribly with this
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It's gonna be ten times hard for you to get another head coaching job
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That's why a lot of times you see the same head coaches staying in the same place because why they have shown a level of
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Consistency wherever they've been and they have maintained a
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Status quo with that team. That's why you have certain organizations that are regarded and talked about so highly
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Like the Rams the Ravens the chiefs
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Those are the type of teams that are always going to be in a place of stability because why
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stability starts all the way in ownership and it goes all the way down to the general managers in the front office
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compared to dysfunctional organizations like
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The Giants the Jaguars the Cowboys the Bears for instance
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Places that have been struggling to find a level of consistency in a level of stability
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But continue to make self-inflicted wounds every single chance that they get
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So while I am happy that Liam Cohen got a head coaching job
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We also have to recognize that he is under a microscope from day one
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because now
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everybody in
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every assistant every coordinator
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Front office and more guess what that all falls on your shoulders now
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Just saying
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some people are built for a head coach and
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And some people are just not meant to be head coaches and that's perfectly fine
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You can still make a whole bunch of money being a coordinator. We've seen it
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Spags is a perfect example spads was a head coach
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Didn't have the best success
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Now it becomes a coordinator with the chiefs and is now going to be regarded as one of the greatest defensive
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coordinators of all time
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No one's complaining because why he got championships and he's making money no one really cares
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But sometimes we look at the opportunity and not the things that come with the opportunity
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That's a bar right there. I might have to write that down but on to another coaching situation that is
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Former Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowing has been fired. Okay, so let's just get into the rankings of the offense
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Then we will get into everything else that's associated with it. Okay, so in
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In 2023 they had the 12th ranked offense. They were seventh in passing offense in 22nd in rushing
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Okay in 2024 they had the 22nd ranked offense. They were 21st in passing offense in
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15th in rushing
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Now when we look at this
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We all know that that first year that Bobby Slow was the offensive coordinator. That was their best year by mother
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Okay, that was the year that everyone was saying. Oh Bobby Slowik, you know might might be a head coach next
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He's being connected to you know
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This team and that team that has you know head coaching openings
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And so he decides to stay with the Texans for one more year. Okay, cool from the offensive line
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To the run game to even the passing game
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The Texans offense as a whole was not as productive as that first year people could say, you know
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It's the sophomore slump or you know teams had schemed up a better plan against the Texans
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It could be any of those things but the fact of the matter is that production that they saw in 23
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Was not there in 24 and so what better way to you know
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To make sure that you can keep your best opportunity of staying relevant as well as possibly making a run
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With someone like a CJ Stroud get off of Bobby Slowik bringing somebody else
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Because at the end of the day if things are not working
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There's no need to try to force it sometimes. It's just good to just move off going a different direction and just figure out
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What do we need to do moving forward? Okay, because at the end of the day, I want people to remember this
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we are in a
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Business of production and if you are not being productive guess what you are going to unfortunately lose your job and
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Someone else is going to take your place that is for players as well as coaches
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GM's and more and so this is what happened now
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The question is who are they going to make their offensive coordinator next me personally the first person
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I would have thought of is maybe pep Hamilton or Byron left which and the reason why I say that is because
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Pepp Hamilton has experience working with the Texans. Okay now granted he worked with
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Davis Mills at the time. This was before they got CJ Stroud
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I think if you bring in pep Hamilton and maybe even Byron left which as well
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I think you could really maximize the potential that this Texans offense has
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Because Joe mixing that's a dog. You got Stefan digs. You got Nico Collins. You got Tink Dale
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You got Dalton Schultz. This is a really good offense. All it needs is just better productivity
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From a play calling standpoint. That's it. Well, gotta work on the offensive line as well because offensive line was just
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Atrocious, but that's another story for another day. The fact of the matter is this
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They need to bring in somebody that's going to take this team to the next level because right now in my mind
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This is a playoff caliber team. This is a team that can easily win their division because their division is still dysfunctional
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Okay, you have the Titans that are still going through rebuild
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You have the Colts that are trying to figure out their left from the right and you have the Jaguars that are I
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Don't know stuck in the swamp. I don't know but the fact of the matter is
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Sometimes it's just good to just go your separate ways. Let's talk about Robert solid going back to Cali. Okay
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former Jets head coach Robert solid has rejoined the 49ers as their defense coordinator as expected by a few people
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Okay, now when we break things down, okay in
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2017 under Robert solid they had the 20 second against the pass in
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22nd against the run 2018 they had the 13th ranked defense
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They were 11th in past defense and 14th in run defense in 2019
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They had the second ranked defense. They were first in past defense in
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17th and run defense and then in 2020 they had the fifth ranked defense
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fourth in past defense and
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Seventh in run defense now
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We all know that under Robert solid especially from 20 maybe 18 to
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2020 that is when the 49ers defense was spectacular was elite was
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Punching people in the mouth and since then they've had their struggles. Okay, let's just be real here
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They have had significant struggles
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And so I think bringing somebody back like a Robert solid who by all means, you know
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Was very well respected within that organization and the players. I think it does help them significantly
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Because let's be real here folks
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Robert solid is going to get another head coaching job. Okay, we all know that the situation in
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New York was atrocious
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It was toxic and it didn't help that you have someone like Aaron Rodgers who will
29:03
Just willingly throw you under the bus every single chance that he has and will continue to do so until the end of time and so
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Everyone realizes listen some of that was not on Robert's
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Silas, you know plates some that was out of his control and sometimes it's just good to just take a pivot come back home
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You know figure things out your strengths and your weaknesses and then go back out try it again
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And that's perfectly fine because we saw exactly the Jets defense
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being super productive under Robert solid and then
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When he left well not even left but when he was fired
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Okay, and Jeff Albright stepped in that defense was not the same. I'm just saying here folks
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Robert solid has a major effect on the defense
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Where everywhere he goes he has a major effect on the defense
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I would not be surprised within the next two years
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Robert solid is a head coach again now. Let's get into Pete Carroll going to sin city folks
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That's right. Pete Carroll. He hogs head coach is now a raider. Okay?
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Now when we look at this, this is actually really good hire
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Okay, and the reason why I say that is because the raiders needed true leadership. Okay, and this is no shot at
30:25
Antonio Pierce or whatever, but they needed somebody who has experienced they needed somebody who is
30:32
Able to communicate with the players and bring the best out of players when we look at the entire Seahawk situation
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That was Pete Carroll's MO which was relating to the players from DK Metcalf
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To Marshal Lynch to Richard Sherman and more each and every person
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Has something positive to say about Pete Carroll
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Because he was able to talk with them on a level that both of them were able to understand
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And so I think this gives a little bit of hope to someone like a Max Crosby who?
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Let's be real here has been in limbo for the last few years because he's been a part of all the foolishness that has happened with the raiders
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From Josh McDaniels to Antonio Pierce. He's been through it all and he wants to be able to experience winning football
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And what better person to experience winning football with
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Than with a guy named Pete Carroll. Okay, this is the same person
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That was shirtless with DK Metcalf when they had their combine meetings like this is how wild Pete Carroll is and so I
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Do believe this gives
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The Raiders some hope now. I'm not saying they're gonna you know go on a crazy run and go to the Super Bowl
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But I do think this could bring in a breath of fresh air for this team because let's
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Look at what happened a few years ago. Okay?
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Remember when Tom Brady went to the Buccaneers, who did he bring out of retirement?
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Bruce Arians and guess what happened one of Super Bowl now?
32:10
He's applying that same recipe over here with the Raiders to see if it's gonna work, which I think it possibly could work I
32:20
Think there's a good chance that Russell Wilson might actually go and work with Pete Carroll because
32:25
Outside of all the coaches that he's worked with my time in P. Carol
32:30
Champagne does account cuz champagne really done like Russell Wilson, but that's a little story for another day
32:35
But outside of those two he's had the most success with P. Carol. That's his guy
32:41
So I wouldn't be surprised if Russell Wilson goes to the Raiders and that's gonna be hilarious
32:46
But that's another story for another day, but we have to talk about some Steven's football here folks big Ben
32:53
Speaks on the state of the Steelers. Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man. He is dropping some truth bombs here folks
33:02
So let's just get into it and I quotes. Okay. It still feels like there's no Steelers way anymore
33:09
There's still guys who have it, but it doesn't feel like it it frustrates me to watch it happen
33:15
It might be time to figure out what you've got to do for the next couple years to make a run
33:20
I don't know that they're close to be honest. You go get a guy if you think you're only a quarterback away from winning
33:27
They're just not a quarterback away in my opinion if Russ is willing to take a lower deal for less money
33:33
I'd go with Russ. If not, I don't think it's an issue to give Justin a shot. Why not?
33:39
Give him a chance. What's the worst that can happen?
33:42
If you go with Justin, you pay him less money than Russ
33:45
You save some money if it doesn't go well, you're right back where you are right now and can draft a guy
33:52
Do you really think the team is built for a Super Bowl run? I don't think it is yet
33:56
Now this comes from Jerry Dulac
33:59
one of the the big dogs for the Pittsburgh post
34:03
Post-cazette so shout out to him for this amazing interview with Big Ben. Now, this is what I will say
34:09
He is 100% right. He is spot on from start to finish
34:13
Okay, and the reason why I say that is because
34:18
The Steelers for the past few years have been very dysfunctional
34:21
Ever since been retired it has been a nosedive into the ground when we look at it. They have mishandled
34:30
Drafting free agency signings coaching hires and coaching firings
34:35
They have mishandled all of that lately and it has pushed them back significantly
34:40
Do I remind you ladies and gentlemen fellow football junkies the last
34:47
first round pick that the Steelers have given a second contract to was TJ Y
34:54
That was the last person since then
34:57
Nobody else has gotten to that second contract and the streak continues
35:02
Because now Najee most likely will not be joining the team as well on top of that the mishandling of the Kimmy Pickett situation
35:10
Now I'm not saying that Kenny was innocent
35:13
No, I am not because he has a hand to play in his own demise as well anytime that you do not suit up
35:20
for a game to be the emergency quarterback because
35:23
You feel like that you should be out on the field and you should be out there over Mason Rudolph and whatnot
35:29
But that's a different story for a different day
35:31
because I have a lot to say about Kenny Pickett as well because I'm starting to see a
35:35
A trend going on for some people especially on Twitter about you know Kenny picket and whatnot
35:41
So we're gonna shut that down but back to the Steelers as a whole though when you do not draft well
35:47
It's going to hurt you then and it's gonna hurt you now and the reason why I say that is because
35:56
Drafting is a very pivotal part in building a Steelers championship team
36:01
Okay, you look at any of the championship teams from the 08 Steelers to you know the steel curtain all of those
36:10
They were built from the draft and so far they have not hit well in the draft
36:16
now on their first round picks and definitely not on their day two and day three picks and
36:21
So you have a mixture of that on top of the mishandling of the Mac Canada and Kenny Pickett situation
36:27
Which we all knew when all said that they should have fired Mac Canada after that first year
36:34
On top of that the mishandling of the quarterback situation where you bring in someone like a Mitchell Trabisky
36:41
You don't tell him that you're going to draft a quarterback in the first round and then
36:47
On top of that you just say okay
36:51
Yeah, you're gonna start first and then during the middle of the game you pull him out and then you put Kenny pickett in
36:56
That's a lot of mishandling and that falls on the Steelers and that is exactly why the Steelers are
37:04
Farther away from being a true Super Bowl contender because they cannot overcome their own struggles
37:11
We are living in a time now where if you do not have a guy at quarterback
37:17
You are not going to win a championship
37:20
You just won't be able to compete with the best of it if you don't have a
37:27
Borough a Lamar a Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes or even a Justin Herbert
37:33
You're not going to make it that far. I don't care if you have the highest paid offense
37:37
I don't care if you have the highest paid defense. It don't matter if you don't have a guy
37:43
You're not going to go anywhere
37:45
Look at Washington for the longest time since RG 3. We're just shuffling through quarterbacks
37:51
Shuffling shuffling shuffling Alex Smith Taylor Honecky who else who else who else who else who else Ryan Fitzpatrick
37:58
They was just shuffling through quarterbacks and then guess what it only took one draft
38:03
They got Jaden Daniels. Bam
38:06
That first year with Jaden Daniels. They went all the way to the NFC championship may I remind people they
38:12
Were pretty close from going to the Super Bowl this year and all it takes is just one
38:20
Shot and so now we're going through that phase that a lot of teams go through which is
38:25
Trying to figure out exactly. What are we going to do?
38:29
Moving forward when it comes to the quarterback position and granted. I understand there's a lot of frustration
38:36
There's a lot of anger and whatnot. I get all of that
38:39
We have the right to feel that way because the standard is the standard
38:44
We're all told that you know, the standard is the standard and our standard is you know championships
38:50
We haven't been playing championship football in over a decade. Okay, and what what pains me the most is
38:58
We are wasting the prime years of a TJ Y of a cam Hayward of a Minkoffice Patrick
39:06
Because we cannot get our own act together
39:08
because
39:09
We decided we wanted to make a decision to rewrite the wrong that we didn't do in the 80s now
39:18
You're probably wondering what I'm talking about back in the day
39:22
The Steelers were interested in Dan Marino
39:25
The only reason why the Steelers did not draft Dan Marino was because there were allegations coming out that Dan Marino
39:33
Was using code while he was at pit and so for the longest time
39:37
That was the thorn in their side and then you have someone named Kenny Pickett. That's coming out of pit and
39:45
Now you're trying to rewrite that wrong guess what happened
39:50
It and put you in a hole and now you have him who's on the cusp of possibly winning a Super Bowl and now you have fans are saying well
39:59
Kenny Pickett could do it. He can do it. He's definitely gonna win them a Super Bowl. Let me tell you something here
40:04
I want you to hear me very clearly. Okay?
40:08
This is the same Kenny Pickett who literally
40:13
Was put in the game the last game of the season against Washington and
40:19
Choked the game away
40:21
The Eagles had a lead over Washington and he choked the game away
40:27
That's the same Kenny Pickett that everybody is concerned about that everybody is in a hoopla about really that guy
40:36
Come on
40:37
Come on guys. I need you to take your emotional glasses off for just a moment. Okay, and
40:43
While we're at it, you know, I definitely saw a narrative that also caught my attention and that was you know
40:50
Somebody said I'm not gonna give the name because I'm not gonna give them power
40:54
But they say that the Steelers were a better team than the commanders
41:01
New flash no, we're not
41:03
No, we're not the only difference is we have better pieces
41:07
Than Washington, but the fact of the matter is Washington is a better team than us
41:13
When we look at things from an overall perspective
41:17
They have a better coaching staff and they're in a way better situation than what we are
41:22
Because you know why they got their guy
41:25
They got their guy Jane and Daniels is their guy. All right, Jane and Daniels could be the reason why they become Super Bowl champions
41:35
We don't have that over here. They are in probably one of the best situations in the entire league
41:41
They're gonna have a boatload of cap space
41:44
They're gonna have a really good draft pick and they don't have a whole lot of holes that they have to fill on their team
41:50
Oh, they're gonna be super competitive. They're gonna be problems in the next 10 to 15 years
41:56
Meanwhile, we're trying to get our act together so we can at least try to win at least one playoff game
42:03
Not two not three
42:06
Not the Super Bowl just one and we haven't been able to win one in close to a decade. Come on. I
42:13
Need you guys to take the emotional glasses off and be real
42:18
Okay, be real with yourself, but let's get into the last topic and that is
42:25
Russ
42:26
Trying to get back and win the hearts of people in Pittsburgh
42:31
Okay, so he appeared on the pat mac if you show not too long ago and he had this to say and I quote
42:38
Yes, we have started to talk a little bit obviously and we have had our meetings and everything else
42:43
We're just getting into it going into Pittsburgh was a special place for me
42:47
I love it and hopefully I can play there a lot longer
42:50
It's a special place because of the guys in the locker room and the traditions and the people in the winning
42:56
Plus you got Mike tommy who's arguably the best coach of all time one of the top ones
43:01
I got so much more in me man
43:03
I'm excited obviously my goal is to be with the Pittsburgh Steelers a long time and hopefully
43:10
Finish my career there and quote now when we look at spot rax's market value for us
43:15
It's two years
43:18
77.4 million which 30.7 million a year now. This was probably the old
43:23
Market value when we were 10 and 3
43:26
Now that the season is over and we're in Cancun, you know sipping pina coladas and mimosas
43:31
It's probably less than that
43:34
significantly you see I
43:37
Would have had a problem if we would have at least won two of those
43:42
last games right but
43:44
For us to go live game slump horrible absolutely horrible on top of that
43:52
We get crushed in Baltimore. Okay?
43:56
It was just atrocious that last
44:01
half of the season
44:03
It was just bad play and in my mind. I think the team realizes listen
44:08
we have to give Justin Fields a legitimate chance because they did it and
44:12
and
44:14
Justin Fields had a better
44:17
Skill set to win than Russell Wilson at this point now if this was Seattle Russell Wilson
44:24
Oh, listen Justin Fields get out the way Russ. Do your thing cook. Okay, but Russ has reached the point where he can no longer be
44:33
You know that effective
44:35
Quarterback that he used to be where he could just you know roll out the pocket and you know wait a few seconds and then
44:41
You know make some magic and whatnot. He can't do that no more and that's fine
44:46
But you're gonna have to go somewhere else because bro you are putting a cap on this team
44:51
I don't understand for the life of me why people think that Russell Wilson will be the best, you know chance for us because
44:59
We need a quarterback that is able to extend the play that is able to run if need be
45:06
Mike Tallinn has been saying this for the past few years now and now that you have an opportunity to do so
45:12
You have to act on it
45:14
Justin Fields you can get him for less
45:17
But the selling point is this if you take less
45:21
We're going to surround you with weapons
45:23
We're gonna give you an entire offseason to evaluate you and to see exactly if you are the long-term solution
45:31
Or if we need to be aggressive in next year's draft class to trade up and to possibly find our guy
45:39
Just the selling point, okay, because if he goes anywhere else
45:43
There's not a legitimate guarantee that he's gonna be surrounded with a better situation
45:49
so
45:50
There's a lot of tough decisions. They're gonna have to be made moving forward, okay?
45:54
I understand people want, you know
45:57
This person to get fired and that person to get fired and Mike Tallinn to go and I understand all that
46:03
That's most likely not gonna happen. Okay, most likely in my mind
46:08
I think they'll probably make some additions to the coaching staff me personally
46:13
I think if you just add assistance in places that you are weak at I think it would definitely be a
46:20
A plus because look when we added Brian Flores for that one year
46:27
We all saw how more productive the defense was
46:31
So if you see it then that is something that you have to continue to do moving forward
46:37
Also, that's the last thing I'm gonna say and then I'm gonna get into you know, everything else
46:43
Arthur Smith was successful
46:46
When he had a veteran
46:48
Offensive line. Okay when you had Taylor Luan and Nate Davis and Ben Jones and Roderick Sappfold and company
46:56
That's when he was the most successful
46:59
Just saying but I'm gonna end this episode here if you guys like what you are listening
47:03
Please please please please please make sure that you guys are downloading the episode
47:07
Leaving the fire star review on anywhere that you listen to the football junkies podcast
47:11
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48:07
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48:25
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48:29
GM kale as always I hope I gave you guys the fix that you guys need stay tuned
48:33
We're going to have another episode talking about both games that happened this past weekend. So I love you guys
48:40
I appreciate you guys so much. This is your GM kale
48:43
Who currently is not on a team right now, but don't you worry about it?
48:46
Who currently is the chief head of the table with anything and everything related to the bag and more kale?
48:53
signing out peace and love